With all the hubbub about politics, elections and economic woes, and the holidays quickly zooming upon us, it's easy to forget the little things in life.
Consider this article as a "tuck-behind-the-ear-and-save-it-for-later" sort of article.
You may not be thinking about this now, but you should consider carefully the wonderful joy of having kids in your life.
Alright, maybe you don't have kids of your own - before you click away to greener pastures, read this article and pass along the message.
Kids need to know, in a re-assuring way, that they matter.
Not so much that they matter because they have to clean their room (though that matters), but because they simply...
...
count for something.
They're little folks, and have a tendency to disappear from eye level unless they're raising a ruckus or getting our goat.
Let's not forget we were there once, in the size 4 boy's or size 2 girl's shoe, looking up at the forest of trees that made the world of grown-ups.
Here's one of the ways we deliberately set out as a family to show our kids they're on our agenda, on our radar and not only our periphery, and smack-dab in the middle of our hearts.
Celebrate Birthdays: In Three Ways We celebrate birthdays, and though each family is different, we have a pretty simple formula.
First, since all of the children in the home have chores, we relieve them of their duties on their birthdays.
That's a big deal, since we don't skimp on chores.
On top of that, we ask the birthday child what type of cake they want and what the menu will be for the day.
They usually go all-out, which is the point - they'll either be the king or queen for the day.
Of course, we do presents and the cake, and our twist on the Happy Birthday song.
The second way we do birthdays - and we're not wealthy, so let's get that on the table - is to celebrate half-birthdays.
Six months after their birthday, we have a 1/2 birthday without presents, but with the menu and family time.
Usually a family game or movie.
The third way we have birthdays is the "The Golden Birthday," so if you're born on the 8th of the month, then you celebrate your Golden Birthday when you turn 8.
It's really up to you how you differentiate your idea of the Golden Birthday, but for us we try to do something extra-ordinary on the Golden moment.
For us, it's different each time, but we'll try to do something kid-specific, an activity that the child loves to do.
It may be a simple camping trip, or perhaps a trip to the toy store with a blank check (and a budget...
!).
So long as the Golden Birthday is set apart as particularly special day - and mind you it only happens once a life - then that's the intent.
What if your child was born on the 31st? Simple: divide that by two - and make the 15 1/2 birthday the special moment.
These are just some of the ways we celebrate our kids.
Making them know they're special is a year-long process, day in and day out.
Take some time, even only 20 minutes a day, on a consistent basis to let them know they are worthy of the party.